What is your smoking policy for STRs in Cities

Question

Hi, BPers,

I’m curious about how you handle weed smoking in your STRs. It seems like almost every young guest in my units ends up smoking weed inside the house. They’re getting smarter about it too—trying to clean up any residue so there’s no visible evidence, though the smell still lingers.

I currently have a $350 fine for smoking inside, including weed. However, with the frequent incidents and the persistent odor, even after cleaning, I’m beginning to wonder if this has become the norm for STRs in urban areas.

Any advice or tips on how to prevent this would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Lee

John Underwood · Answer

Smoking is not permitted inside.

Remediation would fall under damage.

We have never had to deal with this.

Garrett Brown · Answer

People have definitely gotten smarter with the cleanup and I had the same problem in one of my units. I have a Wynd sensor in my units (mention that we have it and it's 99.9% accurate in our emails), put it in my house rules that it is a $250 fine, and have a sign small above the detector with the same language. I do a lot of direct bookings that take security deposits, but with Airbnb, they are always tough. I have not had an issue until this week on Airbnb and I'm going to use the Wynd data as evidence since there was no physical evidence so we will see. I have an ozone machine on hand, and if there is no same-day check-in, then it's easy to solve usually.

Carolyn Fuller · Answer

I suspect that the differences have to do with time of year and/or weather it is legal in the STR city.

My STR is MTR during the academic year which it is easy to smoke outside in the yard during STR season.

Regardless of why, it hasn’t been an issue for me

Michael Baum · Answer

We have a pretty rural place and Idaho has some of the most strict laws around marijuana use so that hasn't been an issue for us.

Smoking in general has been a problem a couple of times. We don't allow any smoking anywhere on the property. Summer is dry here and fires are a real concern so I say nope.

We have a $500 security deposit and it is clear that I will keep it if you smoke anywhere on the property. I have done it twice.

I tell folks just go for a walk on the road or bike trail along the lake and don't toss the butts.

Garrett Brown · Answer

I have not had that issue. I would imagine putting language in the rules about tampering or removal is a fine similar to how hotels do. But, then you get the joy of proving that the guest did that in a tampering way and not "accidentally". Is it possible to hide it some or out of reach? You can still make it known that it's in there.

Andrew Steffens · Answer

On 65 units with +/- 4 rentals per month on each average 260 rentals we may have it 1-3x per month. It is definitely more on the urban units and less on beach / family units. As mentioned above there are sensors that can help, and strong verbiage in a rental agreement should help mitigate it, though not 100%.

Leon Lee · Answer

Carolyn,

All these properties have backyards, so I’m puzzled as to why weed smoking has become so popular, and why guests don’t even bother to go outside to smoke. I’m just trying to get a sense of how common this issue has become and how other STR hosts in urban areas are handling it.

Carolyn Fuller · Answer

My STR is in a city where it is legal in private but not in public. My STR has a private backyard so I am able to treat it the same as cigarettes - outside only

Leon Lee · Answer

I just checked Amazon but couldn’t find it. I wanted to look at the reviews to see if it’s worth trying. Another question: Have you noticed any change in income for the property since the policy was implemented? If this is becoming common in certain areas, do you think it might deter a significant percentage of potential guests?

What is your smoking policy for STRs in Cities

What is your smoking policy for STRs in Cities

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